Senators are just about ready to wrap up their months-spanning investigation into the shady world of Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators (POGOs) and their public face, disgraced ex-mayor Alice Guo.
On Wednesday, Senator Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the panel conducting the probe, said the chamber would hold another session looking into POGOs and their enablers on September 24, but this could be the last hearing on the subject.
Beyond the hype the investigation generated, and the celebrity status it gave a dismissed town mayor who is also suspected of being a foreign agent, the lawmaker said their efforts for the past four months have not been wasted.
“I want to share what we have achieved so far. We managed to identify gaps in border control, the system of granting visas, law enforcement, and birth registration,” Hontiveros pointed out.
She noted that the Senate forced concerned government agencies to look inward and start their own investigations into corruption and policy weaknesses within.
The investigation “in aid of legislation” also served as an impetus for lawmakers to fine-tune the Anti-Financial Scamming Act and to propose amendments the Anti-Human Trafficking in Persons Act.
Furthermore, the Senate’s disquieting revelations about POGOs as well as Guo and her disreputable circle are believed to have influenced President Marcos’ decision to ban POGO-owned enterprises altogether.
For his part, Guo’s legal counsel Stephen David said that he will start working on getting his client released on bail once the Senate inquiry comes to an end.
Hontiveros’ office said that once the Guo-POGO chapter has been closed, lawmakers will be free to turn their attention to alleged sex offender Apollo Quiboloy and his Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) acolytes.
Meantime, the KOJC and its affiliate, Sonshine Media Network Inc. (SMNI), denied that a private armed group called “Angels of Death” existed within their ranks, and whose function is to serve as Quiboloy’s personal enforcers.
KOJC legal counsel Israelito Torreon called the allegation “untrue and absolutely preposterous.”
He said in a statement that KOJC members are not engaged in physical violence because they are fighting a “spiritual battle” and should therefore be seen as “prayer warriors.”
